Trunk collar and track



G. H. WHEARY.

TRUNK COLLAR AND TRACK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. 191a.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

UNTE STTES PATlilN'l, @lE FlCE.

GEORGE HENRY WHEARY, 0F RACINE, WISCONSIN.

TRUNK COLLAR AND TRACK.

Application filed May 3, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LGnonen I'IIGNRYl/VIIEARY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of lVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trunk Collars and Tracks, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a trunk collar and track construction more particularly adapted for use in wardrobe trunks.

Trunks of this type are usually divided vertically medially into two sections which are hinged together and are adapted to be swung laterally to open position to permit access thereto. One of the sections is usually divided into drawer and other compartments, and the other section is arranged to hold the apparel which is draped over two point suspension garment hangers, the said hangers being slidably supported on tracks which are mounted on the inner side portions of the wardrobe section. The wardrobe section is usually open at its upper end and is provided with a top cover which is hinged to the rear portion of the wardrobe section or to the front edge portion of the drawer section. As the open end of the wardrobe section materially weakens the said end, the top covers are constructed to overlap the upper edge, or what is termed in the nomenclature of the art, the collar. This collar is usually secured to the inner upper edge portions of the section and projects upwardly from the three sides of the section and-is overlapped by the depending flanges of the cover which abut against the upper edges proper of the trunk section when the cover is in closed position. The flanges of the cover are also provided with a depending strip of material which overlaps the upper edges proper of the said section to form a valance. Heretoit'ore the collar of the ordinary trunk has been formed of strips of wood glued and riveted to the upper edge portions of the wardrobe section and the garment hanger tracks have in turn been fastened to a reinforcing band which was fastened to the collar by rivets or screws. This construction is compa'atively very expensive to manufacture and does not possess the strength desired. I Furthermore, the construction described materially increases the weight oi the trunk Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-Au". 19, 1919.

Serial No. 232,351.

and requires considerable space and thereby lessens the capacity or the wardrobe section. Furthermore, in the said construc tion the garment hangers are formed of wood and have metal hook portions riveted on their outer ends which engage the tracks. Said metal hook portions ttorm sharp shoulders which are liable to injure the garments draped over the hangers unless care is exercised in packing the trunk.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to overcome the before mentioned objectionable features and provide a trunk collar and track construction in which the collar and tracks are formed in a unitary structure of sheet metal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trunk collar and track construction in which garment hangers of a greater length may be used in a trunk construction of a given'size than are ordinarily used, thereby providing greater width of space for draping garments over the hangers mounted on the rails.

A. further object of the invention is to provide a trunk collar and track construction for supporting garment hangers in which the use of metal hooks on the ends of the garment hangers is eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trunk collar and track construction in which the collar and track portion and also the extension tracks are formed of sheet metal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trunk collar and track construction which serves as a reinforcing means for the open end of the wardrobe section of the trunk.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trunk collar and track construction having sheet metal extension track numbers which are hinged to the outer ends of the fixed track portions in a manner to form a rigid cormection therebetwcen.

A further object of the invention is to ln'ovide a trunk collar and track construction in which the extension tracks thereof may be 'yieldingly locked in both open and folded. position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trunk collar and track construction in which means are provided for preventing the garment hangers mounted thereon from accidentally slipping off the track portion of said construe ten.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trunk collar and track construc tion which is of simple construction, is strong and durable and is well adapted for the purpose described.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of the improved trunk collar and track construction and its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims. and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the views:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View of the upper portion of the wardrobe section of a wardrobe trunk taken on line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a top view thereof with the top cover removed, the view also indicating by dotted lines the extension tracks in open position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the upper portion of the wardrobe section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1, the extension track member being shown in open position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional detail view of a modified form of collar and track.

Referring to the drawing the numeral 8 indicates the wardrobe section of a wardrobe trunk which is arranged to be swung horizontally to open position. The upper end of the wardrobe section is open as indicated by the numeral 9 and is covered by a top cover 10 which is preferably hinged to the upper forward edge of the. other section (not shown) and swings over and closes the wardrobe section when said sec tion is in closed position. 1 The top cover is provided with depending flanged portions 11, the lower edge por tions of which abut against and rest upon the upper edge portions of the wardrobe section. The depending flanges of the top cover are provided with a strip ofmaterial 12 along its lower edge portion which overlaps the upper edge portion of the wardrobe section when the said section is in closed position and the cover is swung there over;

The trunk collar and track13 is formed of sheet metal and is connected to the inner edge portion of the upper open end of the wardrobe section of the trunk by rivets or screws 1a and projects upwardly therefrom a suflicient distance to form comparatively a wide collar which is overlapped by the depending flanges of the top cover when the cover is in a closed position. The collar and track is of approximately U-shape in plan view and of angular shape in cross section, and comprises side members 15 and a rear member 16 which are provided with forwardly bent tongues 17 and 18. These tongues overlap the rear end portions of the side members 15 and are riveted thereto to rigidly connect the parts together. The upper portion 16 of the rear member 16 medially of its height is offset inwardly at right angles to provide a. sufficient clearance for the depending rear flange of the top cover, and the upper portions 15 of the side members 15 are also offset inwardly at right angles to provide clearance for the depending side flanges of the top cover. The side members 15 are also provided with inwardly bent and folded portions 19 to form parallel horizontally extending tracks for su) Jortin the outer ends of the arment hangers 2O slidably mounted thereon. These hangers are of a length slightly shorter than the distance apart of the upper portions 15 of the side members 15 to permit the free sliding movement of the hangers on the tracks. It will be noted that the use of metal. hooks on the outer ends of the garment hangers is eliminated thus providing greater length of space for draping garments thereon and also eliminating the possibility of injury to garments draped on the hangers.

In the event that it is desired to only use the device as a track and reinforcing means it may be mounted within a trunk part in a position so that its collar portion will not project above the opening of the trunk, and in some cases the rear member of the device may be eliminated when the reinforcement is not necessary.

The forward ends of the side members 15 are bent and shaped to have extension tracks 21 hinged thereto, as indicated by the numeral 17 and arranged to permit said extension tracks to swing from a folded po sition shown in Fig. 1 to an extended or open position shown in Fig. 3 and in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The extension tracks are of L-s-hape in cross section to support the garment hangers and prevent endwise movement thereof and are provided with stop flanges '22 to prevent the accidental dis engagement of the hangers with the tracks. Said extension. tracks at their rear ends have short projecting portions 23 which extend between the folded portions of the fixed tracks of the side members and the extension tracks are braced by said folded portions. The projecting portions have upturned stop fingers 24: which bear against the outer side portions of the collars 15 and limit the outward swing of the extension track members to alined positions with the fixed tracks, and the inward swing of said extension tracks is limited by the engagement of the inner edge portions of said tracks against the shoulders 25 of the side members 15.

The projecting portions 23 are also provided with downwardly embossed projecting knobs 25 which snap into recesses or indentations 26 to yieldingly lock the extension tracks in either open or folded positions.

The top cover is shown as provided with a pad 27 into which garments draped on the hangers embed and are retained in position without injury.

In the modified form shown in Fi 5 the inner edges 19 (only one being shown) of the folded portions 19 are bent upwardly and the lower edge portions of the upper parts of the garment hangers are notched as at 28 to prevent the hangers from accidentally disengaging the tracks by moving them in an oblique direction with relation to the tracks.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that combined collar and track is formed of sheet metal, is of light weight and is strong and durable, and that the use of hooks on the ends of the hangers is eliminated, and the structure is well adapted for the purpose described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The eombinationof a trunk, of a collar and track therefor, comprising strips of material shaped to conform to the contourof a trunk portion and having opposite mwardly projecting portions forming a track for supporting garment hangers and upwardly extending portions forming a collar.

2. The combination of a trunk, of atrack therefor, consisting of sheet metal side members connected to portions of the trunk and having inwardly projecting portions forming garment hanger supporting means and upwardly extending portions for hunting endwise movement of hangers supported on the inwardly projecting portions.

3. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a track therefor, consisting of sheet metal side members connected to the side portions of the trunk section and having inwardly projecting track portions for supporting garment hangers and upwardly extending portions, said inwardly projecting portions extending medially of the height of said side members.

t. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a track therefor, consisting of sheet metal side members connected to the side portions of the trunk sec tion and having inwardly projecting folded track portions for supporting garment hangers slidably thereon.

5. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a track and collar therefor, consisting of a strip of sheet metal shaped to conform to the contour of an open portion of the trunk and fastened to the inner surfaces of the walls of said trunk portion and projecting outwardjiy therefrom beyond the open. edges of sai trunk portion to form a collar having opposite side portions and a rear portion, the side portions having medial inwardly projecting portions forming tracks for supporting garment hal'igers slidably thereon.

(i. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a collar and track therefor, comprising a U-shaped strip of metal fastened to the inner surfaces of the walls of an open portion of the, trunk and projecting inwardly and outwardly therefrom to form a collar offset inwardly and having opposite side portions and. a rear portion, the said side portions having medial inwardly projecting folded portions forming tracks for supporting garment hangers slidably thereon.

7. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a collar and track therefor, comprising a U-shaped strip of metal fastened to the inner surfaces of the walls of an open portion of the trunk and offset inwardly and projecting outwardly therefrom to form a collar, the said side portions having medial inwardly projecting folded portions forming tracks for supporting garment hangers thereon.

8. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a collar and track therefor, comprising strips of metal joined together into U-shape and fastened to the inner surfaces of the walls of an open portion of the trunk and having opposite side portions and a rear portion, said portions being offset inwardly and projecting outwardly therefrom to form a collar, the said side portions along the line of the offset being folded inwardly to form tracks for supporting garment hangers slidably thereon, and extension tracks hinged to the outer end parts of said side portions and ll'lOVtlblO from folded positions to positions in alinement with the first mentioned tracks.

9. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a collar and track therefor, comprising a rear member and side members connected together to form a U-shaped structure which is mounted within the open end of said wardrobe section, the upper portion of the rear member medially of its height being offset inwardly to form a collar part, the upper portions of said side members medially of their height being offset inwardly to form collar part and. also being folded to form tracks for slidably supporting garment hangers thereon, and extension tracks hinged to the outer ends of the side members and movable from a folded position to positions in alinemcnt with the first mentioned tracks.

1.0. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a collar and track therefor, comprising a rear member and side members connected together to form a U- shaped structure which is mounted within the open end of said wardrobe section, the upper portion of the rear member medially of its height being oifset inwardly to form a collar part, the upper portions of said side members medially of their heightbeing offset inwardly to form collar part and also being folded to form tracks for sli'dably supporting garment hangers"thereon, and extension tracks hinged to the outer ends of the side members and movable from a folded position to positions in alinement with the first mentioned tracks and having portions which extend between the folded parts of said first mentioned tracks.

11. The combination with the wardrobe section of a trunk, of a collar and track therefor, comprising a rear member and side i members connected together to form a U, shaped structure which is mounted within the open end of said Wardrobe section, the upper portion of the rear member medially of its height being oifset inwardly to form a collar part, the upper portions of said side member medially of their height being off set inwardly to form a collar part and also being folded to form tracks for slidably supporting garment hangers thereon, and extension tracks hinged to the outer ends of the side members and movable from a folded position to positions in alinement with the first mentioned tracks, and means yieldingly locking the extension tracks in open and folded positions.

12. A collar and track, consisting of allshaped member having inwardly offset and upwardly extending collar portions, the opposite side parts of said member medially of their height being folded inwardly to form track portions.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commis 13. A collar and track, consisting of a U- shaped member having inwardly ofiset and upwardly extending collar portions, the opposite side tiarts of said member medially of their height being folded inwardly to form track portions, and extension track members hinged to the outer ends of the track portions and movable from a folded position to positions in alinement with the track portions.

1 1:. A, collar and track, consisting of a U- shaped member having inwardly offset and upwardly extending collar portions, the opposite side parts of said member medially of their height being folded inwardly to form track portions, extension track members hinged to the outer ends of the track portions and movable from a folded position to positions in alinement with the track portions, and means yieldingly locking-the extension tracks in open and folded positions.

15. A collar and track, consisting of a U-' shap'edmember having inwardly offset and upwardly extending collar portions, the opposite side parts of said member medially of their height being folded inwardly and upwardly to form track portions.

16. The combination with a suspension garment hanger having a notched edge portion, of a collar and track therefor, consistin of a side member having an inwardly oiiset and upwardly extending collar portion, the said side membermedially of its, height being folded inwardly and upwardly to form a track portion, the upturned part of which enters the notch of the garment hanger.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

GEORGE HENRY WVHEARY.

Washington, D.. C.

sioner of Patents. 

